Monthly Archives: March 2017

Students interested in the Science and Medicine field were recently granted the special opportunity to be a part of the King’s Muscle Lab advisory student panel which took place down the road from King’s College Hospital. Many of those were Year 12 and 13 students who like myself were from the ‘Harris Experience Advanced’ scheme along with some other students from JFS, Burntwood and Graveney schools who were lucky enough to be invited with us! This was the first gathering of the upcoming few for many of the students.

Upon arrival, we met 6 professionals in various fields including Doctors, Physiologists, Physiotherapists and Researchers. Each one gave a helpful presentation about their journeys into their professions and the various routes they took. Some were not as successful as others in their initial attempt. However, this broadened my insight into the very many similar pathways I could take other than Medicine including biomedical research. Our day was based around the broad topic of ‘Physiology’, the study of the functioning of the body, and specifically ‘Paediatrics’.

Soon after, we were assorted into groups with people we’d never met and each group was assigned a speaker to work with for 15 minutes. Here, we had the beneficial opportunity of asking questions that we were curious about. We discussed the differences between adults and children and their lung capacities. We then answered the question “Are children mini adults?” To my surprise, the answer was no. We also got the chance to share our future aspirations with them and gain useful tips and advice including upcoming work experience offers with the team which I am thrilled by!

As an aspiring neurologist, my favorite thing which we spoke about was the topic of brain diseases such as epilepsy, a neurological disorder which causes recurrent seizures in an individual. Also, learning about what causes the irregular brain wave signals which a sufferer experiences was fun. We deduced how factors such as other health conditions, race and age make developing epileptic seizures much more likely. Dr Harris also informed us about children he previously worked with in Uganda where the rate of death caused by open-fires is exceptionally high. Along with this, we brain-stormed the many difficulties a modern family with an epileptic child could face and the future issues which could arise.

Altogether, the experience was fascinating and a great success. Dr MacBean and her team organized it very well for us to feel welcomed and comfortable with one and other despite it being the first time seeing each other. (Side note: the snacks we munched on whilst being fascinated by the works of the respiratory system were lovely and a great aid for helping us absorb the new scientific content we learned.) It was not at all as difficult and fact-heavy as I initially expected it to be and turned out to be one of my favorite experiences so far this year. I will definitely be including this experience on my personal statement in future when I apply for Medicine, which I feel more content in doing after the Muscle Lab!

Special thanks to everybody who worked hard to provide us students with such an amazing experience!

For those, like me, who love science it is natural to consider becoming a doctor. However, many students have very little idea what this involves and there are limited opportunities to find out more. So I was very grateful to be invited onto the King’s Muscle Lab panel. I went for the first time today and loved it. I have done the usual volunteering and work experience but this gave me a genuine insight into real life inside the NHS – how the moving parts all work together to produce better outcomes. Our panel were able to properly talk to the doctors and other healthcare professionals about their work which was a particularly valuable experience.

I’d never been on a student panel and had no idea what it involved but when I was sent the itinerary with a list of guest speakers I started to get excited! I arrived at King’s College London Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (is there anything they don’t do?!) with a few other keen scientists from my school. We were welcomed by Dr Vicky MacBean who introduced us to the ‘Muscle Lab’ and the visiting professionals and then we were off!

Each professional, a mixture of doctors, physiologists and physiotherapists, had fifteen minutes with their group of five to discuss a topic that incorporated everything from child physiology to ethics to care plans to early intervention. I was fascinated to see that so many professionals with such varied backgrounds were all working in the field of respiratory studies whether it was research or clinical. To see how all the healthcare professionals’ work fit together was particularly interesting and very reassuring for those on the panel who are trying to narrow down what they might want to do in the future. Whether you’re the person holding the spirometer measuring vital capacity or the person in the lab examining lung tissue you are part of a wider system that works with the primary focus of caring for patients. All the professionals that we met were at different stages of their career and yet all of them were genuinely enthused to be sharing their experiences with us.

The focus of the session was paediatrics and specifically how this differs to adult healthcare. It was emphasised that children are not just ‘mini adults’. Although all the students attending learnt a great deal it wasn’t like being in a class at school. The small group environment created an easy atmosphere for discussion where every idea was valued and we felt able suggest something that we weren’t necessarily sure was correct. We were guided by our experts but given the ability to be free thinkers.

I had an encouraging and inspiring experience at the ‘Muscle Lab’. It opened my eyes to the complexity of our comprehensive healthcare system which is particularly topical. Instead of leaving fearful for the future of the NHS I left energised by the passion and enthusiasm of those who are working to keep it going. Their desire to include the next generation in their work is admirable and I’m extremely lucky to have met such wonderful people with such passion for the respiratory system!

Post written by Tilly Roberts, Year 12 student at Graveney School, London